Improvement in tents



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EnAncoIs A. CHAPELLE, or PAnIs, FRANCE.

IMPROVEMENT IN TENTS. d

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 35,922, dated July 22,1862.

To. all whom/ it may concern:

Be it known that I, FaANoIs ACHAPELLE, of Paris, in the French Empire,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tents;

and I hereby declare the following to be afull,

clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is asectional elevation of atentarranged to accommodate four persons; Fig. 2, a plan view of thesame, showing it on one side with the tiaps disposed in the form ofshelter or extension to the tent, while upon the other side they areshown to hang down to close the tent and afford protection against rainand wind; and Fig. 3 represents a transverse sec tional elevat-ion.

Tents as heretofore constructed afford to the soldier or traveler butinsufficient protection. Although they may be made eectually to protectthe men against rain, yet they are, in' a 'sanitary point of view,highlyobjectionable on account of the absorption of the wet by the soil uponwhich the men are compelled to lie, and which often proves fatal to themost robust. To'avoid these inconveniences is the object of myinvention; and it consists in the combination with or attachment totents known as tente-abri, 7 or any other tent of a similar nature, of-a hammock hung or suspended so as to dispense with the necessity of themensleeping on the ground, and to insure a comfortable couch, sonecessary and important after battle and forced marches.

By my improved tent the men will be preserved against rheumatism,`fever, and other intirmities engendered in encampments, and the woundedmay be attended to withl great facility, whereby the tents constitute ananxiliary to ambulances and eldhospitals. Thus, by the addition of aninsignificant amount of weight to the tenteabri actuallyin use, I securethe triple advantage, first, of more perfect shelter and protectionagainst the elements; second, a comfortable couch isolated from theground; and, third, of a free space under the hammock, which may be usedas the recepta cle for the guns, knapsacks, canteens, and otherarticles, to protect which by this means a double roof is extended.

Among the other advantages I would mention that this my improved tentmay be pitched and struck in less time than any other in use,

and allows of the men entering it and leaving it instantaneously uponthe least signal.

To enable others to make and use my improvements, I shall now proceed todescribe its construction, arrangement, and operation.

Tents capable of accommodating four persons are constructed with threeuprights, A, driven into the ground about two feet apart. These uprightsmay be in two parts or formed with sockets or joints B, to connect themtogether, and are furnished with hooks b near the center for supportingthe Inetal rods, to which one end of the cloths or hammocks is attached.The upper ends of the uprights are connected by the rods,which alsoserve to support the outer covering of the tent. The other end of eachcloth or hammock is attached to a metal rod, D, formed with eyes orother convnections at each end. This rod, when the hammock is to beused, is firmly secured to the upper edge of the knapsack by straps orother fastenings, which thus forms a bearing or support for the foot or.lower end of the cloth or hammock, so as to raise it above the ground.Ropes F are attached to each end of the rod which fixes to the knapsack,the ends being tightly stretched up to a peg, which is irmly driven intothe ground. Two or Vmore such cloths or hammocks may thus be stretchedand supported side by side, (according to the number of uprightsemployed,) corresponding ones being stretched and supported from thecentral uprights` in the opposite direction. Each cloth or hammock thussupported forms adry and flexible bed or surface onwhich the soldier orother occupant of the tent can repose with ease and comfort withoutbeing exposed to the weather or the injurious effects of lying upon dampground, while the space underneath the hammocks forms 'a shelter for thearms, ammunitions, provisions, or clothes of the occupants.

The cloth or covering H H of the tent is cut in a rectangular form, soas to shut in the tent at the side by falling almost close to the side,to protect the men against the heat of thesun, rain, or wind, and theparts thus forming the cover are furnished with buttons, hooks,eyelet-holes, or other fastenings to connect them together, and thevarious parts can in case of need be employed as sacks or receptaclesfor the use of the commissariat or for baggage.

The whole of the parts are capable of being rolled together to form apackage of limited size, which may be carried on the knapsack. For theuse of cavalry or travelers, a light portable metal or other support maybe substituted for theknapsack, suitably constructed to fold up orattach to the hammock. Tents constructed according to thisinvention maybe made for one or any large number of occupants.

Having thus fully described my improvement, I would here observe that Ido not Wish to confine myself to the precise dimensions and constructionof parts of my improved tent as herein described, it being obvious thatsome modifications may be effected Without departing from the principleof my invention; butI What I claim is The attachment to andcon1bination,with a tent of the character and general disposition F.CHAPELLE.

Vitnesses:

E. MEINARD, GEO. HUTToN.

